Cendrillon

Missy this is a very sad story and I suspect a very personal one as well.

Now according to my theory, that is twice that 'Life is beatiful' has been mentioned amongst some of my own favourites, so I shall have to try that one, as I have never seen it (or heard of it, if I am honest).   It's first on my list to download.   Like its title, very beautiful and very sad too as twinkle said, take a large box of hankies. Sorry I have added more to my original list

Dee said There is a very particular sort of person who owns a successfull restarant and that is a person who enjoys working very hard....and the partner too. Did anyone see Gordon Ramsey last night trying to turn-around a failing veggie restaurant in Paris? The owner had borrowed loads, owed a lot of money as well and did not put her heart and soul into the place so despite Gordon R. with his bright ideas and hard work it failed. I was just glad that he gave the young girl chef the opportunity to work in one of his restaurants in London, she really deserved it.

Atonement (excellent film, recently released...........do go and see it) Les Choristes Etre et Avoir Fried Green Tomatoes Amelie and loads more! add to that Life is beautiful Gosford Park (for period costume etc.) Four Weddings and a Funeral (for light entertainment) Billy Elliot Late addition Out of Africa  

Some good observations from everyone. quillan said "In answer to the OP make the beds and clean the room every day, check the toilet rolls, empty the bin and replenish the consumables like tea coffee etc. I think, although not compulsory, doing these things will only enhance your reputation but ensure you get repeat business." You can also then justify charging a good rate and making a sensible income from your B&B. If beds are not going to be made on a daily basis and the above services are not provided then I would expect to pay a very small amount for the room.

The 1 metre thing is about hedges and trees I think, not an expert but I know that you can't plant trees over a certain size within 1 metre of the boundary............. ................... fences though are on the boundary AFAIK, in my old house the whole place was fully enclosed and the fences were all erected right on the boundary.   Yes Panda you are right  

.....wife sitting at home with them ...she cannot drive     When I ask  wives why they never learned  I hear  " My husband  never wanted me to touch his car ! " ..........Big... Big mistake ..you should always teach your wife to drive ! Quite right Frederick hopefully all husband and wife couples (partners) who move to rural France (or anywhere else rural !) make sure both  drive or they could find themselves in a very difficult position when the only driver is unable to drive . Living in a town / city would not pose the same problem.

Would it be possible to take a train part of the way and then get a taxi?

You will need to First agree a price for the land with your neighbour and decide who will pay the Geometre and who will pay for and construct new fences Next instruct a Notaire to act for both parties, you can have one each if you like they will share the fees Get the land measured and marked and bornes put in by a Geometre before the sale goes through

[quote user="Deimos"]The chemical de-humidifiers will not extract much moisture from the air.  Just look at the size of the containers (and they can max fill the containers).  If you are away from the house for any time and have a humidity "issue" the chemical ones would be pretty ineffective. Ian[/quote]   Tried and tested over 6 years or so and they work for our place.[8-|]   [I] A couple of years ago we had VMCs installed (which are left on all year) in the two shower rooms and these are brilliant and have made a huge difference.

Well the Geometre is working for both parties. The Parisiennes maybe have not mentioned it because they are in Paris and have decided to get the boundary established at the time of purchase just to clarify the deeds etc. Although a little different, we bought land next door to our house and the neighbour called in the Geometre to mark it out and all was done very amicably. Indeed it was probably one of the conditions of purchase. Panda said "Just a thought, I would also imagine that the letter from the geometre is fairly standard and that most of the time the poor person is called in when there is a dispute to resolve so has to tread carefully." I too suspect the form is  just a formality and a way of making an appointment with you.

Can you explain a bit more about chemical dehumidifiers?  Is it like silica gel? What's it called and where do you get it/them from? Helen Yes I think that is what the stuff is. They are plastic boxes ( a bit larger than a shoe box) and you can buy re-fills for them. Usually available in Brico shops/ some supermarkets and Cancailleries etc. look for De-humidificateurs ......................I think.

Ian Re. de-humidifiers: I was thinking of the chemical ones, we have used these for the last 6 years and so far have not had a problem.   We don't have CH but do leave Acova heaters and heated towel rails on "Frost" setting so that they will kick in when temps. are very low.

Put dehumidifiers in your house over winter and leave the internal doors open so that the air can circulate, it will make a big difference.

Gluestick said "I fear that the typecast vision of the French most Brits enjoy is sheer xenophobia adopted from their parents, whose experience of France was as exchange students when they were 16 a few years after WW II! Things have changed a little since those days!" I fear many French people have similar views about the British, very much based on a single exchange visit with the school during their teenage years!

No info. on that flight but suspect it might be a schedule for Summer months only like the Stockholm / Toulon / Bordeaux flights with Flynordic.

"This may be a daft question, but I thought Europe (incl. France) and UK changed their clocks at the same time these days."   Yes, U.K.put their clocks back an hour last night

 (not very green I know) and not vital either   Cendrillon wearing a green hat [blink]

Sud-Ouest newspaper recently announced new daily flights to Angouleme from LGW with GB Airways  and Ryanair from STD starting in the Spring, don't know whether Easy Jet will take on this route...............watch and wait.

Virginia I can't tell you about Mansle as I don't live there although have some contacts who live in the countryside and like anywhere else rural in France it is quiet in the winter. If you post this in the Central France section you may get some useful response. "A few tell me that La Rochefoucauld is a better town with more wideranging facilities and that it is more lively in winter" During the winter months any town will be more lively than being stuck out in the countryside or even living in a small village.  "...........but living somewhere would be very different from visiting" Yes indeed and most people will agree that winter visits to the chosen area are necessary when house hunting. Bonne chance et  bon courage [:)]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7053547.stm   Sometimes life in France is not all sweetness and light.

In Summer 2008 Jet2 will start new routes: once a week from Leeds to La Rochelle and twice per week from Edinburgh to La Rochelle, good news for those in the north of England and Scotland.   I have been absent from the forum for a while so apologies if  this information has already been posted.

We didn't find it a problem however I think any large city is going to have seedy areas you will always need to be on your guard. Have you contacted the French tourist offices for information?

Some bike shops (small and not so small) will have good second hand  / reconditioned bikes for sale, perhaps you could start with these and then buy some better ones when the opportunity arises.

"We don't want to spend a fortune on our hotel and I've been searching the internet for best palces to stay... we want somewhere that is ok for walking around at night, close to tourist sites and has restaurants close by.."   Try the area around Montmartre, we got a resonable deal at Hotel des Arts last November it has a tiny cinema opposite and many small restaurants nearby.